Nothing Good About Goodbye
by BigRed502
Summary: every story has two sides


**Title: ****Nothin' Good About Goodbye**

**Summary: Sydney has trouble letting him go.**

**Song: ****"Nothin' Good About Goodbye" by Hinder****  
**

"What do you think about New York?" Sydney asked one night as they were sitting on the couch together. Michael put down his hockey magazine and answered.

"My friend Eric lives there. Why?" He wondered where the question came from. They were spending a quiet night at home on the couch, both reading.

"Well, I was offered a job there." She admitted quietly, hoping he wouldn't be mad. She knew this was the opportunity of a lifetime and she had to take it. She had already agreed, but she wanted to see what Michael thought. She didn't want to leave him all the way out in L.A. and hoped he would be willing to move with her.

"Did you take it?" He asked.

"Yeah."

"So you're leaving? Is that it? You just wanted to leave me here?" He asked angrily. He couldn't believe she wanted to leave L.A. where they had made their home. They had both lived their entire lives there and he couldn't even entertain the possibility of moving away.

"No, I want you to come with me." Sydney corrected him, trying to get him to see the good in this opportunity.

"I don't want to move." Michael said defensively.

"I thought you loved me." Sydney replied, thinking that because he said he loved her, he was willing to do anything to be with her. She thought their love was strong enough to keep them together.

"I do, but I'm not gonna pick up my entire life to move all the way across the country just to be with you." He said harshly. It had always been his belief that love wasn't supposed to be hard and thought that it wasn't worth it when it was.

"Fine. Then I'll just go alone." Sydney said sadly as she got off the couch, retreating to their bedroom to pack up her stuff. She couldn't believe he wouldn't do anything to be with her. He had told her that he loved her and she foolishly believed him.

_There's nothing good about goodbye  
I could swear I saw you cry  
I always knew you'd wind up falling harder  
There's nothing good about goodbye  
Just say goodbye._

"What do you want?" Michael asked gruffly when he found her on his doorstep two nights later. She had left the morning after their fight and driven away. He had no idea where she went, but didn't really care. She could smell the alcohol on his breath from a few feet away.

"I forgot something." Sydney said curtly, brushing past him and walking into the bedroom. She opened up a drawer on the night table and grabbed a small, shiny object.

"Is that it?" Michael asked from the doorway.

"Yeah." She replied.

"Where are you staying?" He asked politely, leading her towards the door.

"With my parents until Wednesday. Then I'm leaving." She looked up into his eyes, hoping he would say something about wanting her back. She desperately needed him to say that he couldn't live without her; she knew the same was true for her. She didn't want to leave him. She just wished he could see how much he meant to her.

"Have a nice life." He said bitterly as he closed the door in her face.

_I rolled up my sleeves today  
Cause I thought that this was over  
But then you called to say  
You forgot that broach of your mother's  
Every time I try to cut the cord  
You come crawling back with some excuse  
You forgot something_

Months passed slowly, and Michael moved on with his life. He wasn't sad about Sydney leaving, and didn't really want to know what she had been up to in New York. She had picked the job over him and he took that as proof that they wouldn't work out. He was still mad at her for just taking the job without talking to him first, but he didn't dwell on it.

"You coming, honey?" Stacy asked and extended her hand to him. He took it with a smile, and led her up to his apartment. They had been dating for a few weeks and Michael felt that he knew her well enough to ask her to move in with him. He felt like she wouldn't leave him for a stupid job.

"Stacy I had something I wanted to ask you-" Michael started, only to be cut off by the phone ringing. "I'll be right back." He said, lightly kissing her and running to catch the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey Michael." Sydney replied, "How are you?"

He wondered why she was calling and answered. "Fine, you?"

"Oh, I'm good." She said happily.

"What do you need?" He asked, trying to get to the point. He didn't want to keep Stacy waiting any longer than necessary.

"I just wanted to talk." She answered and he inwardly groaned. "I thought I'd fill you in on how I'm doing out here in New York."

"Oh, well, I'm kinda busy at the moment." Michael hedged, wanting to get off the phone.

"Oh, okay." Sydney sighed. "Do you have someone over?" She asked, wondering if he had moved on. She was still not over him and wondered if he still cared.

"Yeah. So I'll talk to you later." He lied.

"Alright, I have a date with Eric in a few anyway." She retorted, feeling sorry for herself for still believing he even remembered her. She didn't want him to think she was pathetically waiting around for him.

"Okay, have fun." Michael replied, wondering how long she was going to pine for him. She wiped a few tears from her eyes and tried to respond without her voice cracking.

"B-Bye." She said and he knew she was crying. He felt sorry for making her sad, but knew it wasn't meant to be.

_I rolled up my sleeves today  
Cause I thought that this had ended  
But then you called again  
To tell me how you're gonna blow my best friend  
And every time I try to cut the cord  
You come crawling back with some excuse  
You forgot something  
There's nothing good about goodbye  
I can swear I saw you cry  
I always knew you'd wind up falling harder._

"Michael!" Sydney shouted across the room. She made her way towards him, finding him standing next to a petite blonde in a cocktail dress.

"Hey Sydney." He replied kindly. "I didn't know you were back in town."

"It's just a conference." She waved it off. She eyed the blonde questioningly, trying to figure out why she was there.

"Aren't you gonna introduce me, honey?" The blonde nudged Michael playfully.

"Oh, Sydney, this is my fiancé Stacy." They shook hands and Sydney had to fight to hold a fake smile in place. She couldn't believe that only eight months after she left he was already engaged.

"Did you bring Eric?" Michael asked, looking around the party for his college buddy.

"No… We broke up a few weeks ago." Sydney answered, feeling even stupider for not getting over him. Michael had been the reason Eric broke up with her. He said that he couldn't be second to someone over a thousand miles away.

"Sorry, but it was nice running into you." Michael said politely and walked away with Stacy. Sydney kept her tears in check until she got to the bathroom where she broke down sobbing, knowing it truly was over between them. She wished he loved her as much as she loved him, but knew she had to move on.

Next time she would be more careful.

_There's nothing good about goodbye  
I can swear I saw you cry  
I always knew you'd wind up falling  
Falling harder  
Every story has two sides  
In the he-said-she-said fight  
She'll always end up falling  
Falling harder_

**{Fin}**


End file.
